Entangled Hearts
by Ebony Leonhart
Summary: This explores the complicated relationships between the gang after the defeat of Ultimecia. What will happen when individuals pair off with one another? Read to find out, it's definently worth it. Reviews are nice. Thanks!
1. The Beginnings

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Final Fantasy VIII.   
  
Author's note: I hope you enjoy this fanfic. It may turn out to be a little lengthy, but I think that it is worthwhile reading it. More chapters will be added when I finish them. Please Review! Thanks!  
  
*The threat of Ultimecia was over, and now the group of friends were settling back into their seemingly ordinary lives. Soon, more problems would arise. These problems would not effect the world, but rather the individuals who had saved the world, and their relationships with one another. All of the friends had remained just "friends", but this would not hinder new relationships from arising later on.....*  
  
The young girl looked impatiently at her watch. She listened carefully to the rhythmic ticking and became absorbed with watching the second hand jerk to position every second. She let out a deep sigh and took a seat on the bed. She looked toward the door in anticipation of the arrival of her friend. Finally, the door jerked open with one swift motion and startled the girl. She could feel her heart thumping quickly as this occurred. She looked up and saw a young man with a sour expression. His face obviously tinted crimson with rage. The young girl looked at him with a bedazzled look. She stood up from the bed and walked toward him. She set a delicate milky white hand upon his shoulder.  
  
"What's wrong Squall?" she asked. The young man, Squall, shook her hand off of his shoulder. He walked away from her and began to pace frantically back and forth. He ran his hand through his chestnut hair and let out a quiet sigh.   
  
She became more concerned and continued to question him by saying, "What is it Squall? You're worrying me."  
  
She became silent, awaiting Squall's reply. In a slightly rude tone Squall told her, "Why does there always have to be something wrong with me Rinoa?"  
  
This young girl, Rinoa, pouted a little at his remark. Squall could see the hurt in her eyes. The two always had a special way of knowing each others feelings through gazing into one another's eyes. Rinoa had always believed that the eyes can reveal everything about a person if you looked deep enough. She had once told this to Squall and he had laughed at her. He was always such a skeptic.  
  
Squall couldn't stand to view her pain through her crystal blues eyes any longer. He looked down at the floor as he delivered his next sentence. He tried to speak in a more calm tone. "It's no big deal Rinoa, don't worry about it."  
  
Rinoa glared at him and retorted that, "You always say it's no big deal Squall. If it wasn't you wouldn't have been so pissed off."  
  
Squall walked over to the other side of the room and mumbled, "Whatever." A phrase that Rinoa had felt she'd heard too often.   
  
Rinoa began to raise her voice. "Squall! You always say that! Do you care about ANYTHING???" Squall remained silent for a few seconds and then Rinoa began to speak again. "You know Squall....."  
  
Squall cut her off in mid-sentence and suggested to her, "Can we talk about this later? We're going to be late."  
  
Rinoa and Squall were going to join their friends for dinner in Balamb city. They hadn't all gotten together in a long time. Squall had not wanted to go in the first place, but had been convinced by Rinoa and Selphie the day before. He now saw it as an escape from further interrogation by Rinoa. Rinoa insisted further. Now, she tried to take the kind, gentle approach. She came up behind him and set her head on his broad shoulder. Squall looked down to her face and she flashed him a smile. She said in a sweet voice, "Squall, if you don't tell me what's up I'm gonna hug you."  
  
Squall rolled his eyes. "I don't know which option to pick. Their both so terrible," Squall said with a smirk. Rinoa pretended to act hurt and backhanded him in the chest. Squall faced her and shouted out, "Hey! What was that for?"  
  
"You're such a jerk," Rinoa said light-heartedly. Rinoa rubbed Squall's chest gently. She was surprised as to how firm it felt under his shirt. Squall gently glided his hand across Rinoa's arm as she held it on his chest. They paused for a short moment and looked at each other. They began to move slowly closer to one another. Then Squall suddenly pulled away from her, becoming aware of what he was about to do.   
  
Rinoa gave up on fighting with Squall and said to him, "I guess we should get going."  
  
Squall agreed and the two left for the party together.....  
* *  
*  
  
Meanwhile, Quistis, Irvine, Selphie, and Zell were awaiting their arrival. They were sitting in a large booth in the Balamb Hotel, with the sound of soothing music in the background. Zell was beginning to get impatient, and drummed his fingers on the table. Quistis became annoyed and shot him a harsh look. Then Selphie said, "Maybe he changed his mind again....."  
  
Irvine looked up to her and said with a smirk, "Why do we need Squall anyways? I'm the only man you girls need."  
  
Quistis and Selphie simultaneously told him to shut up. Quistis couldn't stand how he acted so full of himself. He was definitely arrogant. She wondered where Squall was. He was twenty minutes late. Him and Rinoa wouldn't be.....Doing anything would they? She brushed the thought from her mind. She remembered that the two had decided months ago to be friends. Squall just had too much going on since they had returned. Things had settled down a bit though. Could Squall have changed his mind? The thought was disturbing her. She still secretly hoped that Squall would love her, the way she loved him. That hope faded more and more with every passing day.  
  
Quistis' friends chatted while she gazed out the window to the star lit sky. Zell noticed that she seemed to be acting strange tonight. He wasn't particularly good at showing concern and simply asked her, "What's up with you Quistis?"  
  
Quistis sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "Oh nothing....."  
  
Then Selphie said excitedly, "Oh looky! Here they come!" She was always the excitable type.   
  
"It's about time, " Zell said. "Now we can eat!"  
  
Everyone chuckled a little at Zell's remark. He always had an insatiable appetite.  
  
Rinoa and Squall sat down in the booth next to each other. Then Rinoa said to her friends, "I'm sorry we're so late guys. Somebody was being a pain though," Rinoa said looking over to Squall. She allowed a smirk to cross her beautiful face. Squall could feel his cheeks get hot. Why did she insist on provoking him?  
  
"Oh Squall. Don't be such a baby," Selphie said. "She's just joking."  
  
"Yeah, lighten up a little man," Irvine suggested.   
  
Squall rolled his blue eyes and stared at the table. He still had the thing that had upset him on his mind. Zell made an observation and spoke up. "There must be something wrong! Squall didn't say 'Whatever'!"  
  
Everyone laughed a little at Squall's expense. Squall let a small smile slip. He realized that he was probably being foolish. He should just ignore his problem. At least then everyone would get off his back. "Can we just get this over with?" Squall asked.  
  
"Come on Squall. You know you love all of us man," Irvine joked.  
  
Rinoa wrapped Squall's arm in hers and rested her head on his shoulder. She looked up to him and said, "We all love you too."  
  
Squall shook her off of him and Zell responded to what Rinoa had said. "Uh, Rinoa. I don't know about you lovin' him, but I sure as hell don't swing that way."  
  
"Yeah me either," Irvine said putting an arm around Selphie.   
  
"Really?" Quistis said. "After all those rejections I thought you would have given up on women and moved on to men, Irvine." Everyone exploded into laughter except for Irvine.   
  
"Oh dear Quistis. All of those women just rejected me because they didn't want to admit they loved me. You should know because you are one of those women."  
  
Everyone else was silent as Quistis and Irvine fought with each other. "Me love you? You've got to be kidding me. Are you delusional or something?"  
  
For the rest of the evening Quistis and Irvine picked on each other. The others talked amongst themselves. Squall remained silent through the whole evening though. Hours passed and the group was still there. Finally Squall stood up and said, "I've gotta go." They were the first words he had uttered in hours.  
  
"Alright," Selphie told him. "You're not talking to us anyways. We invited you hoping you'd actually talk to us. You haven't done that much lately. Not that you ever did, but....."  
  
Squall cut her off from her rambling and said, "I'm just tired okay? I'll see you all tomorrow."  
  
The group said goodbye to him and he left them. Rinoa began to think that maybe she should try to go with him to see if he would finally disclose what was wrong with him. She decided that she would. "Guys, I think I'm gonna go see if I can catch Squall and find out what's wrong with him, okay?"  
  
Selphie nodded her head and told her, "That's probably for the best. Bye!"  
  
After a brief farewell Rinoa left the Balamb Hotel as well. Squall must have already found a cab ride home because he was not outside. Rinoa decided that she would also get one, and go to his dorm.  
  
Selphie, Quistis, Irvine, and Zell stayed for a little while longer. Their part of the hotel would be closing soon. When Zell was leaving Selphie asked him if she could ride home with him. They left together leaving Irvine and Quistis. Irvine said to her, "Looks like everyone's paired up and left except for us. What do you say we call it a truce for tonight and go back to Garden?"  
  
Quistis contemplated the suggestion for a moment and then responded, "I suppose."  
  
"Wow, that's a first. For once you didn't reject one of my ideas," Irvine commented.  
  
"Well most of your other ideas are stupid," she said.  
  
"Hey!" Irvine yelled. "Why are you so mean to me? Is it all that deep passion you're secretly holding back for me?"  
  
"See, just what I said; stupid."  
  
The two continued like this as they walked out of the hotel together. They got in a cab together and rode back to Garden.....  
  
  
  
  
*What will happen between Squall and Rinoa as she shows up in his dorm room at the late hours of the night? How about Zell and Selphie? Will anything happen between them? Could Quistis and Irvine's ride home lead to more than fighting between them? All of these questions will be answered in later chapters. Chapter 2 will have details about Squall and Rinoa, Chapter 3 will be about Zell and Selphie, and of course Chapter 4 will be about Quistis and Irvine. Chapter 5 will be the dramatic conclusion. I'm sorry if this started off a little slow. I had to set the story up though. Please read the other chapters that will be posted shortly. I'll just tell you that these will be very "interesting" and I'm going to have to change the rating once thes 


	2. The Problem

Authors note: Hey, this chapter is about Squall and Rinoa. If you don't like this pairing for some reason, feel free to skip over this chapter. However, the ending may not make as much sense. I don't wanna make you read anything you dislike though. Well, if you like Rinoa/Squall pairings (Such as myself), then ENJOY!!! = )  
  
Rinoa's heels clicked down the hallway of Balamb Garden. She stopped when she came to the door of Squall's dorm. A little nervous, she knocked at the door. She waited a few seconds, of the type that last an eternity, and finally Squall opened the door.  
  
Squall stood in the doorway, looking tired and haggard. His expression turned to confusion though and he asked her, "Rinoa? Why are you here? It's almost midnight."  
  
"I know Squall. But, you really worried me....." Rinoa said quietly, looking down at the floor. She felt awkward standing in his hallway. "Do you mind if I come in?"  
  
Squall sighed and stepped to the side of the doorway, and allowed her to walk in. Then, he peeked outside of the door to see if anyone was there, and shut the door behind him.  
  
Squall ran a hand through his shaggy hair and said, "You know I can get in trouble for having you in here, right?"  
  
Rinoa walked over to Squall's bed and took a seat on it. "Well I'm not leaving until you tell me what's going on with you."  
  
Squall could tell that she was serious. She looked him in the eye, awaiting his response. Squall rolled his eyes and walked over to her. He let out a deep breath and sat next to her. Rinoa smiled.  
  
Rinoa saw that he was a little nervous and set her hand on his thigh. He looked up to her and she told him, "Don't worry."  
  
Rinoa removed her hand, and Squall began, "Well.....I don't know where to start....."  
  
He paused for a second and Rinoa took his hand into hers. This was obviously something huge.  
  
"I learned something today.....It changes everything," he continued.  
  
"Okay," Rinoa said, urging him on further.  
  
Squall squeezed her hand harder as he quietly delivered his next sentence. "Laguna is my father."  
  
Rinoa sat stunned. Finally she managed to stutter, "Wh-what???"  
  
"He told me today," Squall said blankly. He stared ahead to the wall as he spoke.   
  
"Oh my God Squall.....Is this a good thing for you?" She put an arm around him, but he shook it off. He stood up and walked to a corner of the room.  
  
"What do you think Rinoa?" He said with a small amount of rage. As he proceeded, his anger heightened. "Is it a good thing to know you had a father that decided he would just leave you at an orphanage? Would you want to know that you weren't wanted!?"  
  
Squall stopped and knelt down in his corner. He cupped his head in his hands. Rinoa walked over to him and knelt in front of him. She began to speak and Squall looked up to her. He was obviously on the brink of crying, something Rinoa had never seen him do before.  
  
Rinoa listened intently as he continued. "He said he didn't know he had a son until he got back from the war. Raine, who I guess is my mother, had died during this time. I'd been sent to an orphanage, but he never bothered to go find me!"  
  
"You don't know that Squall," Rinoa said.  
  
"That's bull shit Rinoa! And you know it. Besides, even after he found me, he waited months to tell me," Squall argued. Now, the first tear fell down Squall's cheek. He frantically brushed it away, as if it had never fallen.  
  
"Squall, I'm sure that he was just afraid to tell you. Maybe he was waiting until the time was right," she suggested. Squall rolled his eyes and stood up. Then he uttered, "Whatever."  
  
There was silence between the two. Just as Rinoa was starting to make her way toward him again, Squall spoke, with his back to her. "You know what? You said if I told you my problem, you would leave. So why don't you go?"  
  
"I'm not going to leave you now Squall. Remember when we promised we'd always be there for each other? Well I'm gonna be here for you," Rinoa said strongly.  
  
Silence once again overwhelmed the room. Then Squall turned around and said in a cracked voice, "I yelled at him.....I told him I didn't want him in my life. You should have seen the pain in his eyes....."  
  
Rinoa could see he was fighting back tears. "Squall.....It doesn't matter about the past, you can't change that. You can have him in your life NOW. That's all that matters."  
  
Another tear fell from Squall's eye and Rinoa put her arms around him, and held him tight. He didn't fight her hug, and squeezed her back. Rinoa was a bit surprised, but not as surprised as she was when Squall whispered into her ear, "I love you Rinoa." Her eyes widened, and she said nothing. When she didn't respond, Squall pulled away from her and said, "God, I'm such an idiot....."  
  
"No, Squall!" Rinoa said. "Don't say that.....I'm just not sure if you realize what you're saying right now. You're not in the best condition."  
  
Squall's face turned red with embarrassment. He had never said that to anyone, and he felt terrible since she didn't say it back.  
  
"Can you just leave Rinoa?" Squall pleaded, a tinge of anger lingering in his voice.   
  
"Squall....." she began, but he cut her off.  
  
"Just go!" he screamed. He scared her, and she backed away.  
  
"If that's what you want, then goodbye," she said with a little hurt. She hurried out of the room and shut the door behind her. Squall plopped down on his bed. He stared at the ceiling, trying to sort things out. 


End file.
